Benzinga | Aug 10, 2020 04:01PM EDT

Tencent Music Entertainment Reports Multi-Year Extension Of Licensing Deal With Universal Music Group, Will Form New Joint Venture Music Label In China

Tencent Music Entertainment Group ((Tencent&nbsp, Music or TME, NYSE:TME), the leading online music entertainment platform in China and Universal Music Group (UMG), the world leader in music-based entertainment, today announced a multi-year extension of their licensing agreement.

The companies also announced a new joint venture music label. The new label will be dedicated to reaching audiences across China through cultivating, developing, producing, and showcasing highly talented domestic artists and their premium original music.

With the extension of the licensing agreement, TME will continue to distribute music from UMG's world-renowned record labels and its stable of domestic and global recording stars on its platforms. These platforms include QQ Music, Kugou Music and Kuwo Music. UMG's content will also be licensed for use on TME's online Karaoke platform, WeSing, along with other live streaming and expanded digital services.

Through this extended partnership, UMG and TME will further explore and expand their shared commitment to continued growth across the music market in China, in order to provide value for artists and great experiences for music fans. UMG represents and holds the most comprehensive catalog of recordings and songs across every music genre. It identifies and develops artists and produces and distributes the most critically acclaimed and commercially successful music in the world. TME is the leading online music platform and a partner of choice in China, working closely together with its partners on copyright protection to empower artists, musicians and performers to create, distribute and monetize their music, and ultimately reach an enormous base of Chinese music lovers.

UMG and TME have been working closely to reinforce a sustainable music licensing ecosystem in order to help support the industry's evolution in China. Under the existing partnership, TME has promoted UMG's vast licensed premium music to hundreds of millions of music fans through TME's leading marketing capabilities and in-depth user insights. The two companies have also collaborated on music product innovations, including online music shows and videos, to provide users with a first-class online music entertainment experience in China.

Adam Granite, UMG's London-based, EVP of Market Development, said, "We are pleased to extend and evolve our licensing agreement with TME for the Chinese market. We look forward to working together with TME to help create compelling new experiences for fans across all TME platforms, and to expand on the opportunities available to UMG's global and domestic family of artists in China."

Cussion Pang, TME's Chief Executive Officer, said, "I am delighted to announce this landmark win-win strategic cooperation with Universal Music Group. Supported by our hundreds of millions music lovers, powerful promotional channels, extensive user insights, as well as well-rounded digital music services, we have been a valuable partner for the industry to engage with music lovers. Through this partnership expansion, we look forward to cultivating the growth of the dynamic and expanding music entertainment industry in China, taking our shared love and pursuit of new music, to new levels that will benefit all."

Sunny Chang, Universal Music Greater China's Chairman and CEO, said, "The extension of this agreement provides our roster of artists access to significant further opportunities in China, building on new momentum in the Chinese music market. China has grown to become one of the world's leading music markets, driven by the adoption of streaming by more and more Chinese music fans. UMG is excited to continue working together with TME to continue to deliver UMG artists and their music to this rapidly growing population of passionate music consumers. Furthermore, we look forward to working with TME together on our new music label in China to develop talented artists and bring their original music to a global audience."

TC Pan, TME's Group Vice President of Content Cooperation, said, "Universal Music Group and TME are excited to share the same passion and vision when it comes to the music industry. Together we can build an international pioneering music label to produce new music loved by the younger demographic, bringing in iconic music stars, innovative music works, and more breakthrough music genres to the global music market, ultimately providing music fans in China and around the world with a spectacular music entertainment experience."